Medicare Overpayment Recovery Period Extended

As of Jan. 2, 2013, Medicare has five years to recover overpayments plus interest from providers and suppliers. Previously the deadline was three years. The change in the statute of limitations was approved in H.R. 8, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), signed into law on that date. Waiver of Liability Before ATRA, a provider who received an overpayment was “to be deemed without fault” if the determination of an overpayment “was made subsequent to the third year following the year in which notice was sent to such individual that such amount had been paid,” according to Section 1870 of the Social Security Act. Under Section 638 of ATRA, “third year” was replaced with “fifth year.” Savings and Impact This provision is estimated to save $500 million, according to preliminary projections of the Congressional Budget Office, but critics say it will cost clinical laboratories, pathology practices, and other providers more time and resources to monitor the Medicare payments they receive for an additional two years in order to limit their potential exposure to an attempted overpayment recovery.